Australian’s love of property won’t be shaken by the pessimist pedlars

It looks like the doom and gloom naysayers who have been beating up the Australian property market for the last year or two have failed to make much of a dent in public opinion.

Quite the opposite in fact, as a new CUA survey shows that over half of us have confidence in the continuing strength of our economy and believe we have a brighter economic outlook than the US and Europe.

According to the survey findings, 58 per cent of Australians were certain that the economy will remain strong over the coming year and felt positive about the prospects for local real estate to improve over the next five years.

As reported in Property Observer, just 18 per cent were swayed by negative media and commentator sentiment, anticipating a fall in housing prices to below current values in five years.

Putting their money where their mouth is and preparing to take the plunge into residential property, around 17 per cent said they intended to take out a loan over the next year to purchase either their own home or an investment. And of those considering buying an investment property, 63 per cent were totally new to the market.

Group general manager of strategy and marketing at CUA, Andrew Hadley, says, “The past few years have certainly been challenging economically and, while global economic uncertainty prevails, the continued strength and resilience of the Australian economy and financial system appears to be helping fuel a renewed sense of confidence and optimism among the Australian public.

“Undoubtedly, the recent cash rate cut announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will help to further drive this sentiment,” Hadley adds.

He says the reluctance to make any major purchases by Australians over the past 12 months, as evidenced by the increase in our savings habits, has been particularly noticeable in the property market. As such, Hadley believes it’s all the more encouraging to see a renewed faith in our housing sector reflected in the Borrowing and Investment Intentions Survey results and “a positive attitude towards our property market over the medium term.”

My thoughts:

At times of uncertainty we tend to bunker down and not make big purchase or investment decisions. Then after a while we move on, but put our money into areas that seem more certain and secure, rather than in speculative asset classes. With the gyrations of the share market I can see more Australians putting their money in property and more Baby Boomers buying property in their super funds.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not suggesting property is going to boom nay time soon, but this survey shows that, overall, in spite of the pessimist pedlars in our midst who would have us believe the world is coming to an end and taking our real estate with it, Australians are a relatively positive bunch…and we love our bricks and mortar.

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Michael is a director of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He's once again been voted Australia's leading property investment adviser and his opinions are regularly featured in the media. Visit Metropole.com.au

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